>>103
Not exactly what the article says. Strong points and merits of realistic/hyperrealistic animation are also brought up later. Personally, I prefer "realist" animators, by far. People like Oohira Shinya in particular (because yes, imo, he is a heavily realism inclined animator - think of the movement, especially in his effects animation, no?). Shinji Hashimoto is a given. Or Itou Hidetsugu and Inoue Toshiyuki. I prefer the believable and comprehensive aesthetic/detail and motion (stuff like Itou's cut in Je T'aime towards the end when the android goes into shooting mode - link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSqkIdfa3qY&t=2m32s). And above all, I have a special place for Iso Mitsuo. As we all know, he is all about motion, motion and motion. No flash, no visual bling (like Takeshi Koike's block shadows that personally tire me out). Just minimally abstracted, as natural as possible movement. And it looks fucking great.
"Honorable mentions" I guess, would go to Okiura. But I won't put him among my favourites (as much as his work sometime leaves me in awe) because he strikes me as uncanny at times. The stuff he does is so on the spot that it feels too good, creepy maybe (I remember the threads on /a/ when people claim he is rotoscoping). Technically impressive, but not aesthetically impressive. In a sense, he's an example of realistic animation gone slightly wrong. He'll always be the guy who's stuff I look up to but never really admire.